Blog a Form of Therapy

It was nearly three years ago that Julia Roberts started her blog, http://www.kidneysandeyes.com. Both her children, Gage and Quinn, had been diagnosed with ARPKD, and Julia needed a quick and easy way to communicate with family and friends.

At first, the blog was password-protected and available only to a close circle, but after a few months, Julia opened it to the public. An avid blog reader herself, Julia thought other families, especially those with children also coping with special needs, may be interested in her story. They were.

Today, anywhere from 300 to 500 people - many of them strangers - visit Julia’s blog daily. Some post comments of their own words of encouragement and support while others simply read, either with a sigh or a smile depending on the message, and then go on with their day.

To Julia, it’s all the same - a group of people who care about her family’s future, all showing their support.

“Whether they leave a comment or not, I know people are listening,” she said. There is some comfort in that, that people are keeping tabs.”

Julia typically updates her blog twice a week, with photo uploads on Fridays. But, when times are tough, like now, when her son Gage is undergoing dialysis and in search for a kidney donor, the updates become more frequent, and visitors to her blog multiply.

“If there’s more drama, we get more hits,” Julia said with a laugh.

At the same time, the more drama in her life, the more necessary Julia feels it is to write.

“I really started writing the blog for family and friends, but I continue to write because it’s a form of therapy,” she said. “Mine isn’t just about updates; it’s about how our family copes.”

Julia Roberts is Co-Coordinator of the PKD Foundation’s National ARPKD Chapter, Coordinator of the Atlanta Chapter, a member of the PKD Foundation’s Volunteer Action Committee and the recipient of the 2006 Gordon Flesch Humanitarian Award for her work in the PKD community. To learn more about her family’s experiences with ARPKD, visit http://www.kidneysandeyes.com/

Want to share your own blog with the PKD community? Email Communications Manager Kara Cowie at karac@pkdcure.org
to have yours listed online.